


A Ride with the Betrothed

by Burgie



Series: SSO Medieval AU [22]
Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 00:54:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12047931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Justin takes his betrothed on a ride around Firgrove's forests. Zelda belongs to ZDusk.





	A Ride with the Betrothed

Sir Justin Moorland smiled as the massive wooden walls of Firgrove came into view. His dapple grey gelding, Maxy, picked up his speed into a trot, as though sensing his rider's happiness upon seeing the walled settlement. Or perhaps he simply knew that, residing within those walls, was the nice lady who always gave him carrots and sugar cubes and as many apples as he could eat.

Whatever the reason for the haste, the result was that Justin arrived at the gates of Firgrove much sooner than he would have otherwise. Some nights, he had to call up to the gatekeeper to open the gates, announcing his presence and ruining the surprise for his betrothed. But today must have been a safe day, as Justin rode into the village without being stopped by any gates or guards. The gates were open and the inner gates were pulled up, giving the village a safe and welcoming air. 

As he passed under the inner gates, Justin tried not to remember one of the nights when he'd hurried to close the gates, and had had to stand on the other side of one of the inner gates while a massive, hulking beast of a wolf had hurled itself at the wood over and over, trying to get at the knight and anyone else in the village.

It was best not to think of such things. Though it was healthy to fear the wolves, Justin didn't want anything else on his mind for today. He had other plans.

Justin dismounted Maxy and walked around the village, leading his horse on a search for his beloved. Spying a squire, he hailed him.

"You there, squire!" said Justin, and grimaced as the boy flinched. He had to stop speaking to squires as though he was their commander.

"Yes, sir?" said the boy, pausing in his task of polishing a piece of horse armour.

"I apologise for shouting at you, it is simply a force of habit," said Justin. "I am not your commander, nor are you my squire."

"It is okay, sir," said the boy. "What need have you of me?"

"Pray tell me, do you know of the Lady Zelda's whereabouts?" asked Justin. "Only, if you go looking for her, do not tell her that I am here."

"Oh! Forgive me, Sir Justin, I did not recognise you," said the boy, giving a quick bow. Justin chuckled.

"I do not even have my helm on," said Justin, teasing the boy and laughing again as the boy blushed red to the tips of his ears.

"I believe that I saw Lady Zelda over at the stables," said the boy. "She was visiting her horse, I do believe."

"And was this only recently?" asked Justin.

"Yes, I came from the stables only recently, and she was just arriving as I left," said the boy. He looked away. "I remember dropping the armour as I hastened to bow."

"Thank you," said Justin. "Return to your work."

"Yes, sir," said the boy. Justin laughed as he walked away. The stables weren't far from here. Perhaps Maxy would get a good feed of oats while Justin spoke with his beloved.

When Justin came in sight of the stables, he stopped and smiled at the sight that he beheld. Lady Zelda stood in front of the stables, petting her Phantom's nose and speaking to him. She was dressed in her best riding clothes, which still looked as good as her best dress. Though, Justin might be a little biased in that opinion.

"Maxy, no," Justin chastised his horse as the gelding tried to pull away from him. The gelding snorted and looked longingly at the bag of oats that had been left out.

Justin tried to keep Maxy on the other side of him from the oats as he walked into the stable yard. Lady Zelda looked up and beamed at the sight of him, a sight which made Justin's heart skip a beat.

"Sir Justin," said Zelda, leaving Phantom's side to run up and throw her arms around Justin. He returned her embrace, glad that he'd removed his armour for this ride. He wore only light mail instead, the better to receive his betrothed's embrace.

While Justin wrapped his arms around Zelda, inhaling the wonderful scent of her, he felt Maxy finally succeed in pulling away from him. But he didn't mind, though he would have to deal with Maxy being more energetic from the oats. He'd also have to get him away from there soon, but he'd let the gelding have his fun. Let him think that Justin had no idea what he was doing.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" asked Zelda, smiling at him with eyes filled with love.

"I merely wanted to visit my betrothed, and take her on a pleasant ride through the forests of Firgrove," said Justin. "I trust that it is safe to do so?"

"Yes, we have had fewer reports of wolf attacks as of late," said Zelda. "There are rumours that I have struck a deal with the duke of Valedale to have his wizard cast a spell to keep the wolves away, but these are, of course, simply rumours."

"Of course," said Justin with a smirk. He leaned in and gave her a kiss, which Zelda returned happily. 

"Shall we be off?" asked Zelda. "I will tack up Phantom myself, he is already partially done as I had planned on going for a ride with him today."

"Then I came at the perfect time," said Justin. "I will just pull Maxy away from those oats."

"Ah, the stable boy left them out," said Zelda, a scowl crossing her features momentarily. "A foolish and dangerous mistake, but he is only young."

"He will learn," said Justin. Maxy's tail swished as he munched on the oats, and it flicked Justin's leg quite angrily as he began to tug on the reins. "Hey, piggy boy, stop eating those oats. You'll get sick."

Maxy raised his head to whinny at Justin, but it worked against him as the knight grabbed his reins and pulled the gelding away from the bag of oats.

"Felicity!" Zelda called, and the master of horse appeared from the stable house.

"Yes, my lady?" the woman asked, giving a curtsey at the sight of the lady and knight.

"Have the stable boy put away this open bag of oats," said Zelda. "I accidentally left them out."

"Yes, whilst she was getting out some oats for her dear Phantom and my Maxy," said Justin, his heart warmed at the way Zelda so willingly took the blame to save the stable boy his punishment.

"That could have been an expensive mistake," said Felicity, raising an eyebrow. "But I will have him put them away. Would you like me to ready Phantom for your ride?"

"That will not be necessary," said Zelda, tightening Phantom's girth and placing the bit in his mouth. "But thank you for the offer." Justin waited until Zelda had mounted her horse before he mounted, seeing that she didn't need any help.

Justin always admired the way Zelda rode. Her and Phantom made quite the fetching pair, their hair the same glossy shade of black. She was a natural horsewoman. He continued stealing glances at her as they rode out of the village, glad that Maxy was used to this behaviour and wouldn't take advantage of his distraction. At least, not this time.

"I think these woods are some of my favourite on Jorvik," said Justin as they passed between the thick fir trees.

"I am quite proud of my beautiful surroundings," said Zelda. "Many people enjoy our forests, and our fields. That and the architecture of our village. We have had visitors from as far away as Castle Epona."

"I can see why," said Justin. "Though, I don't just come here for the beauty of the environment." He smiled at her, and Zelda blushed and sat a little straighter in her saddle.

"Why, Sir Justin, are you trying to flatter me?" asked Zelda, batting her eyelashes coquettishly.

"I am indeed, my lady," said Justin, leaning closer to her.

"I am flattered, but my heart and hand are already promised to another," said Zelda, holding out her hand with the gleaming golden ring that Justin had given her. It had been his grandmother's.

"Yes, they are. To me," said Justin with a grin, and he would have dipped her into a kiss had they not been on horseback. As it was, he gave her a ravishing grin and Zelda laughed.

They stopped riding at a small clearing that Justin had picked out earlier, a few days ago. He dismounted, tying Maxy's reins to a tree so that he would not wander off into trouble, and Zelda did the same with Phantom.

From his saddlebags, Justin pulled out a blanket on which to sit, along with some bread and fine cheeses. There was also a bottle of wine from his grandmother's winery, the best wine she'd produced.

"Have a seat, my lady," said Justin as he set out the food.

"Thank you, Justin," said Zelda, sitting down on the picnic blanket with a smile. "This was just what I needed."

"Ah, don't thank me yet, the wine glasses have shattered," said Justin, glad that he'd wrapped them and the bread and cheese separately.

"That will not be a problem," said Zelda. She picked up the corkscrew and opened the bottle with surprising strength for a lady, then took a swig of the delicious wine.

"Zelda, that is most unladylike," said Justin, pretending to be offended. And it was a little strange to see, but a part of him liked how Zelda could be herself around him.

"Ohh, this wine is delicious," said Zelda after swallowing a few mouthfuls.

"Heh, I will pass your compliments on to my grandmother," said Justin. "I am sure that she will be glad to hear it. Here, try this bread and cheese. It is sourced from the finest bread and cheese-makers in Silverglade."

"It smells awful so it must taste divine," said Zelda, wrinkling her nose as she nibbled on a small bite of the cheese. And it did taste pretty good.

"Next spring, we will have delicious berries to share as well," said Justin. "I apologise for this meager spread."

"It is fine," said Zelda. "Sit down and stop fussing, Justin. We are here to enjoy ourselves."

"Yes, we are," said Justin. He sat down on the picnic blanket, deciding to dispose of the glass shards safely once they were back in the village, and Zelda leaned back on him with a smile and a happy sigh. She ate bread and cheese and drank wine, not minding that it was all they had. She was enjoying Justin's company far more than anything else, anyway.

In between bites of bread and cheese (which they fed to each other), Justin gave Zelda kisses. She smiled onto his lips and returned every kiss. Justin wished that he had grapes to feed to his beloved, but his grandmother primarily grew grapes for wine, and those were far too sour to enjoy unless one liked sour food.

"You are drinking all the wine," Justin teased, taking the bottle from Zelda and taking a few gulps of it. It truly did taste divine, and he vowed to bring another bottle of this to Zelda. Perhaps he would arrange for a few casks to be sent to Firgrove, he was sure that the drink would be a hit for visiting dignitaries. It worked that way for his grandmother, anyway.

"I have had a long few days," said Zelda, closing her eyes.

"Then rest," said Justin, wrapping his arms around her from behind and kissing the sides and top of her head. "You are safe with me."

"Of course I am, you are a knight," said Zelda. "The luckiest knight in the land, if I may say so."

"Many do say so," said Justin. "And I feel very fortunate, too."

"Fortuna has smiled upon you, and I have appeared," said Zelda. Justin gave her one more kiss, and then Zelda moved down to lie with her head in his lap while the clouds scudded lazily overhead, birds sang in the trees, and the two horses swished their tails while they grazed lazily.

Most of the time, Justin visited Firgrove as part of his patrol. But lately, his visits had become more casual. More personal. More for visiting his betrothed, and less for any other reason. Though, Zelda was worth protecting, so his vigilance never decreased. Even if his heart rate increased the closer he got to the village, Justin never dropped his guard. Not even here, in the forest, for he had his sword lying within arm's reach should an enemy appear. Having Zelda's love only gave him something to fight for, something to protect. He smiled as he ran his fingers through her raven hair, looking down at her with a world of love in his eyes.


End file.
